For Dj FM, "breakup" began several years ago. "I initially pondered doing a solo project when I was in iscream (or S.G.O., as the group came to be known later). I had just written 'Valley,' and decided to present it to the band. So I recorded it on my 4-track, attempting to get it to sound like a "band" rather than just one person. However, I was listening to a lot of Nine Inch Nails at the time, so the original instrumental sounded very industrial. Once Chris and the other guys got ahold of it, it took on a very Pink Floyd kind of feel. The version that is on the CD is truly what I had envisioned it being. I wrote it my sophomore year in college and am still amazed to this day the diversity of reactions it has gotten from critics and fans alike. For me, the music says, 'that was a difficult time,' but the drum breaks say 'you can move forward.'"

LISTEN TO VALLEY
VALLEY (30-second CD quality *.mp3 download)

The next two songs, "Dreamstate" and "Baranquilla," would not come along for another two years. "When I actually entered the recording studio, 'Dreamstate' was the first song I began. My inspiration came from an answering machine message my friend Jason ("The Avenga," drummer for the FM Initiative and former drummer for S.G.O.) had left, in which he says, "Are you in Never-Never Land again?." Then the music just started to flow and I wanted to commit it to tape while it was still relatively fresh in my mind.

'Baranquilla' was actually derived from a song I'd written earlier, 'Finale,' which I put on my first demo 'The Final Movement' 'Finale' was based around a 4-bar drum loop I had sourced from some Brazillian music, and was definetly more ambient than danceable. I then played the sample at a higher pitch, which of course increased the tempo. I was inspired and the guitar melody came into my head within five minutes. I based the lyrics around my experiences in South America" - Baranquilla is the name of a city off the coast of Colombia, S.A. - "and got my friend Elizabeth to translate them into Spanish for me. She then got to do the vocals as well."

LISTEN TO BARANQUILLA
BARANQUILLA (30-second CD quality *.mp3 download)

After that, Jon wrote "Escape," his first foray into drum & bass, and "Proton Girl," a song about one of his experiences at a rave.

LISTEN TO PROTON GIRL
PROTON GIRL (30-second CD quality *.mp3 download)

By the time Jon had finished "Proton Girl," the album was beginning to take shape. A sixth track, "Ella" (the Spanish pronoun meaning "her"), was recorded towards the end of the project, as was the introduction track. "'Ella' was written in the Winter of '96, after I had gone out for coffee with a good friend of mine. She and I have fallen out of touch since then, but the song remains. In fact Tom, my producer, has taken the music to Ella since the album was released and applied his own lyrics to it - my guess is that he will release it on the new Psycho Pomp demo when it's complete." (The first Psycho Pomp EP, "Pirouette," was a collaboration between Producer Thomas Mohbat, Dj FM and Kyler England).

As it turns out, pulling together the funds to record the album, and the actual recording process itself were much easier than what was to come. "I thought I was through spending the 'big bucks' after Tom and I wrapped-up production, but of course mastering follows, then creating and printing the artwork, making the films, and then pressing the CD. It's never something you can budget for - you anticipate costs, call up the people and get quotes, and then a week later something changes and it's all out the window. I had intended to release the CD in March of 1998, but of course my car decided to start giving me problems and that pushed things back a month. I can only thank the people that have held my hand along the way - I guess ultimately it's all a learning process."

So what other lessons did Jon learn from all this? "The internet is an amazing resource for information, and an incredible way to make contacts. If you're an independent musician, I'd say that the internet is where you should be spending most of your time. There are literally thousands of labels with web sites, and I promise you that if you send emails to them which are brief and to-the-point, you will get responses! My #1 Rule of Thumb: never allow anyone to do for you what you should already be able to do for yourself. There are plenty of companies out there charging hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars for services that will supposedly "give you an edge." Do it yourself, learn the business side as well as the music side, and in the long run you'll be better off."